The Brulé are one of the seven branches or bands (sometimes called "sub-tribes") of the Teton (Titonwan)

Lakota Lakota may refer to: * Lakota people, a confederation of seven related Native American tribes *Lakota language, the language of the Lakota peoples Place names In the United States: * Lakota, Iowa * Lakota, North Dakota, seat of Nelson County * La ...

American Indian people. They are known as Sičhą́ǧu Oyáte (in Lakȟóta) —Sicangu Oyate—, ''Sicangu Lakota, o''r "Burnt Thighs Nation". Learning the meaning of their name, the French called them the ''Brûlé'' (literally, "burnt"). The name may have derived from an incident where they were fleeing through a grass fire on the plains.

Distribution

Many Sičhą́ǧu people live on the

Rosebud Indian Reservation The Rosebud Indian Reservation is an Indian reservation in South Dakota, United States. It is the home of the federally recognized Rosebud Sioux Tribe, who are Sicangu, a band of Lakota people. The Lakota name ''Sicangu Oyate'' translates as ...

in southwestern South Dakota and are enrolled in the

federally recognized This is a list of federally recognized tribes in the contiguous United States of America. There are also federally recognized Alaska Native tribes. , 574 Indian tribes were legally recognized by the Bureau of Indian Affairs (BIA) of the United ...

Rosebud Sioux Tribe The Rosebud Indian Reservation is an Indian reservation in South Dakota, United States. It is the home of the federally recognized Rosebud Sioux Tribe, who are Sicangu, a band of Lakota people. The Lakota name ''Sicangu Oyate'' translates as t ...

, also known in Lakȟóta as the ''Sičhą́ǧu Oyáte.'' A smaller population lives on the

Lower Brule Indian Reservation The Lower Brulé Indian Reservation is an Indian reservation that belongs to the Lower Brulé Lakota Tribe. It is located on the west bank of the Missouri River in Lyman and Stanley counties in central South Dakota in the United States. It i ...

, on the west bank of the Missouri River in central South Dakota, and on the

Pine Ridge Indian Reservation The Pine Ridge Indian Reservation ( lkt, Wazí Aháŋhaŋ Oyáŋke), also called Pine Ridge Agency, is an Oglala Lakota Indian reservation located entirely within the U.S. state of South Dakota. Originally included within the territory of the Gr ...

, also in South Dakota, directly west of the

. The different federally recognized tribes are politically independent of each other.

Name

The term "Sičhą́ǧu" appears on pages 3 to 14 of ''Beginning Lakhóta''.

"Ká Lakȟóta kį líla hą́ske. 'That Indian (over yonder) is very tall.'"
"Hą, hé Sičhą́ǧú. 'Yes, that's a Rosebud Sioux.'"

It appears to be a compound word of the Thítȟųwą Lakȟóta dialect, meaning "burned thigh".

Historic Brulé Thiyóšpaye or bands

Together with the Oglála Lakȟóta, who are mostly based at the

, they are often called ''Southern Lakȟóta''. They were divided in three great regional tribal divisions: * Lower Brulé (''Khúl Wičháša Oyáte'', ″Lowland People″, lived along the White River to its mouth at the Missouri River (Mnišóše) as well in the Missouri River Valley in South Dakota; some ventured south to the

Niobrara River The Niobrara River (; oma, Ní Ubthátha khe, , literally "water spread-out horizontal-the" or "The Wide-Spreading Water") is a tributary of the Missouri River, approximately long,U.S. Geological Survey. Many early settlers, such as Mari Sando ...

). * Upper Brulé (''Ȟeyáta Wičháša Oyáte'' - ″Highland People″, ventured further south and west onto the Plains along the

Platte River The Platte River () is a major river in the State of Nebraska. It is about long; measured to its farthest source via its tributary, the North Platte River, it flows for over . The Platte River is a tributary of the Missouri River, which itsel ...

between the North and South Platte River in Nebraska in the search for buffalo. The allied

Southern Cheyenne The Cheyenne and Arapaho Tribes are a united, federally recognized tribe of Southern Arapaho and Southern Cheyenne people in western Oklahoma. History The Cheyennes and Arapahos are two distinct tribes with distinct histories. The Cheyenne (Ts ...

and Southern Arapaho welcomed them as strong allies to this lands which they had further claimed, along the

Loup River The Loup River (pronounced /lup/) is a tributary of the Platte River, approximately long, in central Nebraska in the United States. The river drains a sparsely populated rural agricultural area on the eastern edge of the Great Plains southeast ...

- the former center of the Skidi or Wolf/Loup Pawnee. They went south to plunder enemy Pawnee and Arikara camps, and were therefore also known as: ''Kheyatawhichasha'' - ″People away from the (Missouri) River″) * (Upper) Brulé of the Platte River (a splinter group of the Upper Brulé and the southernmost Brulé group, generally along the

South Platte River The South Platte River is one of the two principal tributaries of the Platte River. Flowing through the U.S. states of Colorado and Nebraska, it is itself a major river of the American Midwest and the American Southwest/ Mountain West. It ...

in Colorado, with hunting bands south to the Republican River - home to the enemy ''Kithehaki / Kitkehaxki'' of the South Bands Pawnee, also known as: ''Kheyatawhichasha'' - ″People away from the (Missouri) River″) According to the Brulé Medicine Bull (Tatȟą́ka Wakȟą́), the people were decentralized and identified with the following ''thiyóšpaye'', or extended family groups, who collected in various local ''thiwáhe'' (English: camps or family circles): * Apewantanka * Chokatowela * Ihanktonwan * Iyakoza * Kanghi yuha * Nakhpakhpa * Pispiza wichasha * Shawala * Shiyolanka * Wacheunpa * Waleghaunwohan

Ethnobotany

The Brulé give pulverized roots of ''

Asclepias viridiflora ''Asclepias viridiflora'', is commonly known as green comet milkweed, green-flower milkweed, and green milkweed. It is a widely distributed species of milkweed (''Asclepias''), known from much of the eastern and central United States from Conn ...

'' to children with diarrhea. Nursing mothers take an infusion of the whole plant to increase their milk. They brew the leaves of '' Ceanothus herbaceus'' into a tea.Rogers, Dilwyn J., 1980, ''Lakota Names and Traditional Uses of Native Plants by Sicangu (Brule) People in the Rosebud Area, South Dakota, St. Francis, SD''. Rosebud Educational Society, page 56

Notable Sicangu (Brulé)

* Bob Barker Game Show Host *

Pappy Boyington Gregory "Pappy" Boyington (December 4, 1912 – January 11, 1988) was an American combat pilot who was a United States Marine Corps fighter ace during World War II. He received the Medal of Honor and the Navy Cross. A Marine aviator with ...

, WWII Marine Corps fighter ace and Medal of Honor recipient * Mary Brave Bird, author *

Leonard Crow Dog Leonard Crow Dog (August 18, 1942 – June 5, 2021) was a medicine man and spiritual leader who became well known during the Lakota takeover of the town of Wounded Knee on the Pine Ridge Indian Reservation in South Dakota in 1973, known as th ...

, spiritual leader,

American Indian Movement The American Indian Movement (AIM) is a Native American grassroots movement which was founded in Minneapolis, Minnesota in July 1968, initially centered in urban areas in order to address systemic issues of poverty, discrimination, and police br ...

activist * Paul Eagle Star (1866-24 August 1891), performer with

Buffalo Bill's Wild West Show William Frederick Cody (February 26, 1846January 10, 1917), known as "Buffalo Bill", was an American soldier, bison hunter, and showman. He was born in Le Claire, Iowa Territory (now the U.S. state of Iowa), but he lived for several years in ...

* Hollow Horn Bear, chief * Iron Nation, chief *

Iron Shell Iron Shell (1816–1896) was a Brulé Sioux chief. He initially became prominent after an 1843 raid on the Pawnee, and became sub-chief of the Brulé under Little Thunder. He became chief of the Brulé Orphan Band during the Powder River War of ...

, chief * Little Thunder, chief * Arnold Short Bull, a well-known Sicangu holy man, who brought the Ghost Dance to the Lakota in

South Dakota South Dakota (; Sioux: , ) is a U.S. state in the North Central region of the United States. It is also part of the Great Plains. South Dakota is named after the Lakota and Dakota Sioux Native American tribes, who comprise a large porti ...

in 1890 * Lone Feather, Republican public administrator from South Dakota, first Lakota elected to the U.S. House of Representatives * Michael Spears, actor *

Eddie Spears Edward Spears (born November 29, 1982) is an American actor. He is a member of the Kul Wicasa Oyate Lakota (often called "Sioux") Lower Brulé Sioux Tribe of South Dakota. Early life Spears was born in Chamberlain, South Dakota on the Lower Br ...

, actor * Spotted Tail or "Sinte Gleska", 19th-century chief * Nellie Star Boy Menard, quiltmaker *

Moses Stranger Horse Moses Stranger Horse (1890–1941) was a Brulé Lakota people, Lakota realist painter from the Rosebud Indian Reservation in South Dakota.Lester, 532 Background A Brulé Lakota from Rosebud, Stranger Horse was born outside of Wood, South Dakota ...

, artist *

Two Strike Two Strike is a census-designated place (CDP) in Todd County, South Dakota, United States, named after Brulé, Lakota chief Two Strike who lived at that location for a period of time. The population was 282 at the 2020 census. Geography Accordi ...

, chief *

Albert White Hat Albert White Hat (November 18, 1938June 13, 2013) was a teacher of the Lakota language, and an activist for Sičháŋǧu Lakȟóta traditional culture. He translated the Lakota language for Hollywood movies, including the 1990 movie ''Dances with ...

, Lakota language teacher *

Dyani White Hawk Dyani White Hawk (full name Dyani White Hawk Polk) (born 1976) is a contemporary artist and curator of Sicangu Lakota, German, and Welsh ancestry based out of Minnesota. From 2010 to 2015, White Hawk was a curator for the Minneapolis gallery All M ...

, contemporary painter and former curator of All My Relations Arts gallery *

Rosebud Yellow Robe Rosebud Yellow Robe (''Lacotawin'') (26 February 1907 – 5 October 1992) was a Native American folklorist, educator and writer of half Lakota people, Lakota Sioux birth. Rosebud was influenced by her father Chauncey Yellow Robe, and used storyte ...

, folklorist, educator and author * Frank Waln, rapper

References

External links

Official website of the Sicangu Oyate
Rosebud Sioux Tribe

Official website of the Kul Wicasa Oyate (Lower Brule)
{{DEFAULTSORT:Brule Great Sioux War of 1876